Over 500,000,000 plastic straws are used each day in the United States and are then disposed of after a single use. In only the past twenty years, people have come to expect plastic straws in every drink, in an example of extreme waste being generated for convenience. These short-lived tools are usually dropped into a garbage can with no further thought, instantly becoming a source of plastic pollution. (http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/no-straw-please/)
The consumption of 500 million single-use plastic straws a day is enough straws to wrap around the circumference of the earth 2.5 times per day. Currently, it is nearly impossible to recycle plastic straws, which often end up in a dump. Plastic straws are also swept away by winds and end up in waterways, and eventually into the oceans. Plastic straws are confused as food by fish and seabirds. In a recent study, it was estimated that approximately 60% of seabirds currently have plastic in their stomachs, and by 2050, 99% percent of seabirds will have plastic in their stomachs.
In effort to combat this massive environmental problem, single-use plastic straws are being banned in restaurants, cafes and bars all around the world. For example, the city of Seattle, Wash. has banned all plastic straws as of Jan. 1, 2018. Other countries, states, and cities are in the process of implementing similar bans of single-use plastic straws. Despite governmental efforts and increased public awareness of the environmental problems caused by single-use plastic straws, plastic straws are still being served in many places.
One solution to not using plastic straws is for people to carry their own, reusable straws. But the problem is that reusable straws are often made out of glass or metal, and by nature are long and inconvenient to carry around. Glass straws are easy to break and need a bulky case to keep them from snapping. If people are to bring reusable straws everywhere, they will want somewhere clean to put the reusable straw. That means keeping the reusable straw in a case that's even bigger and bulkier than the glass and metal straws in their current form.
Therefore, there exists a need for a convenient reusable drinking straw that is easy to carry, store, and easy to clean.